Ryder chewed on his bottom lip. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah.” Liam flicked the card he’d drawn. It landed on Ryder’s chest. “Especially when I can’t pull a single card other than that one.”
Ryder held it up. The Lovers. He slammed it down on top of the maroon pouch.
“Last night was circumstantial,” Ryder said softly.
“For you or for me?” Liam’s arms fell by his side. He moved to stand in front of Ryder’s bent legs.
Ryder’s nostrils flared. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “For you.”
A hand circled Ryder’s wrist and pulled him upright. The tip of his nose brushed Liam’s cheek and their mouths hovered inches apart, breath warm in the autumn air. The full moon shone down on them, urging their magic to stitch together, to tangle and twist.
“We tether, I do blood magic with you, I kiss you, what more proof do you need?” Liam snapped the words close to Ryder’s mouth.
Ryder swallowed hard. “I don’t need anything…” Liam’s hand on his leg stole the rest of what he wanted to say. The press of his fingers on the inside of Ryder’s thigh was senseless and dizzying. The way Liam pushed until he opened his knees and slid between them caused the heat swelling low in Ryder’s gut to pulse.
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want then?”
That was a loaded question. Ryder wanted an absurd number of things, most unreachable, some in front of him. He wanted to get rid of his dark magic almost as much as he wanted to play with it. He wanted to set a fire inside Liam, and ask the trees if they could answer the riddle of his existence, spend more time with his sister and learn Latin. He wanted to be what he was without question or doubt. But mostly, Ryder wanted Liam, so he closed the space between them and kissed him.
It turned into Liam’s hands under his shirt, and Ryder’s hands on Liam’s face, pulling him closer. They kissed like they had hours before, after their magic had calmed and the night was still—unburdened and deep and breathless. Liam was an exceptionally good kisser. Ryder had heard he was, but it was different being on the receiving end of his teeth and lips and tongue. He kissed slowly, like time was an irrelevant onlooker simply waiting for them to finish.
Ryder didn’t think he’d ever finish kissing Liam. His thumb traced the seam of their mouths and he tried to steady his breathing, inhaling what Liam exhaled.
Liam dug his fingers into his ribcage and Ryder moaned, soft and encouraging between the parting of their lips.
“Tell me where I can touch you,” Liam said against his mouth. His hand drifted over the top of his jeans, and slid between Ryder’s legs, waiting.
Yes. Ryder nodded. Touch me.
“You have to tell me.”
Desire pooled in his wrists and legs and kneecaps. Ryder’s body begged him to keep going. “Fuck, just—yeah, yes, but I’m not, I don’t—”
“Yeah, I know, I get it.” Liam pinched Ryder’s bottom lip between his teeth. “Just tell me to stop if I do something wrong, okay?”
“You have to start to stop, Princess.” Ryder’s hips canted, and Liam pressed the heel of his palm down, rubbing Ryder through his jeans. Distantly Ryder thought, he knows. He clutched the back of Liam’s head with one hand and held himself on the car with the other. “Fuck, we’re really doing this?”
Liam’s hand was gone for a second, before he flicked the button open on Ryder’s jeans, and slid his palm under the waistband of his briefs.
Heat rushed into Ryder’s cheeks. He’d been touched before, but not in a while, and not by anyone he cared about. He’d had meaningless hookups after too many drinks, and one-night-stands with other witches. But Liam was different.
Ryder rolled his hips when Liam’s fingers pressed against him, warm and careful. There was a moment of hesitation. Liam’s hand stilled and his eyes narrowed, lips parting in something close to surprise, but not quite. Ryder chewed on his bottom lip and nodded, and Liam didn’t stop. His back hit the hood when Liam pushed him down against it, and he opened his mouth when Liam kissed him, welcoming another hot breath and the smooth tease of Liam’s tongue ring. Ryder moved against Liam’s nimble fingers, his touches sure and firm, but they were gone too soon.
He didn’t know what to say, if he should say anything at all, but before he could catch his breath, Liam’s teeth sank into his throat, then his collarbone.
Liam crawled down Ryder’s body, lips and teeth leaving a trail of vibrant bruises wherever they stopped. He pushed Ryder’s shirt up and kissed his chest, bit the curve of his ribs and sucked hickeys on his stomach. When he made it to Ryder’s hips, he was on his knees. It happened quickly. First, he was choking back a whimper while Liam chewed on his hipbone. Second, he was lifting his hips and Liam was tugging his jeans down. Third, he was arching off the hood of the car, gasping with his eyes squeezed shut.
The full moon beamed down on them and glowed on Ryder’s skin. He felt it in the heat throbbing between his legs, in Liam’s arm across his waist, in the softness of his mouth, hot and perfect, around Ryder’s clit. He tried to keep quiet, but it was no use. Liam’s tongue was clever and quick, and when his fingers slid inside him, Ryder cried out.
“Don’t stop,” Ryder sobbed, embarrassed by the weakness of his voice. He dug his fingernails into the back of Liam’s skull and held him there, open mouthed and on his knees, taking Ryder’s magic and body apart with the curl of his fingers and stroke of his tongue.
Liam’s fingers twisted. He moaned against him—into him—and Ryder couldn’t have dreamed a sound like that.
Desire coiled tight in Ryder’s abdomen. Magic sped through him, around him, on top of him. A breath shattered the night—fast and whimpered and quivering, before warmth spread from the base of his spine into each of his limbs. It shot through his stomach, into his lungs and throat. Everything shook apart. Everything came together.
Steam gusted the air in front of Ryder’s mouth and he went boneless beneath the light of the full moon. He stared at the night sky and counted each breath, three seconds in, three seconds out. His orgasm lingered, drawn out by Liam’s persistent mouth, made painful, then wonderful, then painful, then blinding.
“Okay, okay,” Ryder hissed, shifting his thighs off Liam’s shoulders.
Liam slid up Ryder’s body and set his hands on either side of Ryder’s shoulders. His mouth was slick, lips swollen and overworked. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.
“You didn’t care two seconds ago,” Ryder mumbled.
Liam’s grin was sharp and playful. He shook his head and stifled a laugh. “I don’t, but—”
“But nothing.” Ryder pulled on the nape of Liam’s neck until he leaned down to kiss him. Ryder tasted himself and smoke and power in Liam’s mouth. “Now you know,” he said, and dragged his lips across Liam’s cheek. His hand snaked between them, over Liam’s stomach, between his legs. Ryder gripped him through his jeans.